Chapter 1
Minutes Before My Wedding, I Heard My Fiancée Threatening My Five-Year-Old Daughter Behind a Locked Door
There were less than ten minutes before I was supposed to walk down the aisle in Charleston when I realized my five-year-old daughter, Lily, was missing.
She was supposed to carry a small basket of flowers beside my sister.
I checked the bridal suite hallway first.
That was when I heard Lily crying behind a closed door.
Then I heard my fiancée, Rachel.
“You are not walking down that aisle with me.”
I stopped.
Lily whispered, “But Daddy said I could.”
Rachel’s voice turned colder.
“I don’t care what your father said.”
Then came the sound of fabric ripping.
Lily cried out.
I moved closer to the door.
“Look what you made me do,” Rachel snapped.
“Please don’t tell Daddy.”
Rachel laughed quietly.
“You think he’ll believe you today?”
My hand tightened around the doorknob.
Then Rachel said, “You’ve ruined enough already. Stay in here until the ceremony is over.”
I opened the door.
Rachel spun around.
Lily stood in the corner with tears running down her face.
The front of her little white dress had been ripped almost completely open.
“Daniel,” Rachel gasped. “Thank God. She just destroyed her dress.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Rachel pointed at Lily.
“She threw a tantrum because she didn’t want me to marry you.”
Lily shook her head violently.
“No, Daddy.”
Rachel cut her off.
“She’s been acting out for weeks.”
I walked over and knelt in front of my daughter.
“Tell me what happened.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“We don’t have time for this.”
I looked at her.
“Don’t move.”
The room went silent.
Lily grabbed my hand.
“She ripped it.”
Rachel’s face hardened.
“That is a lie.”
Lily started trembling.
Then she whispered, “She said after you marry her, I’m going away.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“Away where?”
Lily looked at Rachel before answering.
“She said you already chose her instead of me.”
Rachel laughed nervously.
“She’s confused.”
But Lily wasn’t finished.
“She locks my bedroom door when you work late.”
I slowly stood.
Rachel’s face changed.
Lily continued.
“She throws away the pictures of Mommy.”
My late wife had died three years earlier.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Then Lily said, “And she told me if I tell you about the medicine, you’ll send me away.”
I turned back to my daughter.
“What medicine?”
Rachel suddenly grabbed her bouquet.
“We need to go. Everyone is waiting.”
I stepped in front of the door.
“No one is going anywhere.”
Lily reached into the torn pocket of her dress.
Her tiny hand came out holding a small plastic bag with two pills inside.
Rachel went completely white.
“Where did you get those?” I asked.
Lily looked up at me.
“She makes me take them when you’re not home.”
The music for the ceremony started playing outside.
May you like
But I couldn’t hear anything anymore.
Because Lily looked at Rachel and whispered, “Daddy… tell him what happened the night I couldn’t wake up.”
